The Happy Squirrel

Photo by teacherholly


When my sister Mary came to visit in August, we played with her new tarot deck which included a special card called the Happy Squirrel. In retrospect, this card would have been a fitting title for the second half of our weekend together as we visited a Tomato Tasting at the Seed Savers Farm in Decorah, Iowa and made our first attempts at canning tomatoes. Inspired by Barbra Kingslover's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, my friend Joanne asked her mom, Myrna, to give her, Arlyn, and me a tutorial in canning last summer. While I enjoyed the experience (and the peaches we preserved!), I didn't feel brave enough (or have enough time) to try canning on my own. I started thinking about canning again this past July and decided to pick up the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. As I looked at the instructions in that book, I started to feel a bit more confident in what I had learned from Myrna last summer, and I wrote on Mary's Facebook wall, "Hey, do you want to try canning together when you come to visit?" Equally eager to explore this culinary art, Mary agreed and the canning obsession began. Two months later, both Mary and I own our own sets of water bath canning gear and shelves full of summery goodness.

And apparently all our squirreling away might be just what we need in the long winter ahead. There are grumblings going around the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City corridor that this coming winter might be "unusually harsh." To which those of us who made it through the 2007-2008 say, "HOW?!? HOW COULD IT BE WORSE?!?" Let us look at some pictures from this past winter...

Here is a photo of what Ben and I came home to on Christmas Day...


And just so you get the cumulative effect, here's our house and neighborhood at the end of February...





NOOO!!!! Please, let's just skip winter this year, okay? No snow. No cold. No slipping on the ice when I walk Sully in the morning. No dark, dark and dreary days. Please? Please?

Well, despite my protests, I've decided to be proactive this year. I bought cute (and skid proof) snow shoes from Land's End at the end of the season last year. I've put Kaya's origami daffodil on my desk as a reminder that spring will come again. And like that happy squirrel in the Tarot card, I've been stockpiling food...lots and lots of summeresque food.

Here is a list of what I have put up for the winter. Now keep in mind that this list is more for my benefit than yours. I need something to remind me of what's tucked away throughout the house as we enter the winter of our discontent.

In the freezer:

* CORN (from Grandpa Tackett's farm). I have a "corn shelf" in my freezer, and not all our corn fits on that shelf. Thanks to my mom for helping me with that task!

*Cherries (from the Morris home)

*Blueberries (from a u-pick farm near Iowa City)

*Cherry-Berry Jam

*Assorted Peppers (from our CSA & the Farmers' Market)

*Golden Cherry Tomatoes (from our CSA)

*Dragon's Tongue Beans (from our CSA)

*Tomatoes (leftover from canning)

*Eating Well Pasta Sauce

*Veggie Broth

*Chicken Broth

*Green Tomato Chutney

*Stone Fruit Chutney


In the downstairs hall closet:

*Salsa

*Spaghetti Sauce (Ben's Mom's recipe)

*Pizza Sauce

*Canned Tomatoes

*Canned Peaches

*Bread and Butter Pickles

*Applesauce

*Apple Chutney


In the Harry Potter Closet (the closet under the stairs) and the Garage:

*Onions (from the Farmers' Market)

*Garlic (from the Farmers' Market)

*Butternut Squash (from the Farmers' Market)

* Acorn Squash (from the Farmers' Market)

*Potatoes (from the Farmers' Market)

*Sweet Potatoes (from the Farmers' Market)

Now, granted, I know this is only small potatoes compared to the serious canners/food preservers of the world. But still, not too bad for a city girl, right?

If I was a good blogger, I'd give you all sorts of details on how to can, with lots of pictures and recipes. But let me tell you, food preservation is exhausting work. So you will just have to live with this teaser and maybe next summer, when it's sunny and lovely again, I will provide a tutorial on here. Or better, yet, come on over next summer and can with me. As Mary said when we were in one of the many "waiting periods" that comes with canning, "I can see how this would be awesome with bunch of people and alcohol to tide you over in all the time you spend waiting around."

All right, winter, show me what you've got: "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!" This squirrel has her vegetables to see her through.